The Simpsons' Hank Azaria sues actor

Actor Hank Azaria attends the Happy Feet Two premiere. Jason Merritt/Getty Images/AFP

The Simpsons voiceover artist Hank Azaria is embroiled in a legal battle with fellow actor Craig Bierko over who owns the rights to a comedy character.

Azaria, who performs the voices of Chief Wiggum, Moe the bartender, Comic Book Guy and many more on The Simpsons, is suing Bierko over who created a fictional baseball announcer called Jim Brockmire.

Azaria says he came up with the character of Brockmire for a video on the internet comedy show Funny or Die, and that he now plans to develop a movie based on the announcer.

Bierko, who appeared in the 2012 movie The Three Stooges, also claims he created Brockmire. After the Funny or Die video was released, Bierko demanded that Azaria stop using the announcer's voice, he said in the complaint.

In the case Azaria vs Bierko, currently being heard in the Central District of California Court, Azaria is seeking a judicial declaration that he has the copyright to the Brockmire character, “which incorporates the Azaria voice.”

As well as The Simpsons, Azaria has played parts in films such as Heat, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and Mystery Men. - Bloomberg